Feb. 7, 2013

Members of the Larimer County Sheriff's SWAT team ride on Marv, their armored vehicle, as they leave a northeast Fort Collins property after helping the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force secure and search the area for a suspected meth lab. / Trevor Hughes/The Coloradoan

Members of the Larimer County Sheriff's SWAT team and the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force secure and search a northeast Fort Collins property for a suspected meth lab. / Trevor Hughes / The Coloradoan

Police said 13 people were temporarily detained during the investigation but no arrests were made and no lab was found. Some of the people living in mobile homes on the Holter Cattle Co. property at 2816 E. Vine Drive fled into surrounding fields during the 7:30 a.m. raid but were caught and questioned before being released.

“There’s nothing there,” said a furious resident, Darren, who declined to give his last name. “They’re going to make fools out of themselves.”

The initial raid was carried out by the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, riding in two armored vehicles. The investigation was then turned over to the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force.

Darren said he had just gotten out of the shower in the home he rents when armed officers detained him. “They pulled me out in my underwear,” he said. “I guess they think there’s a lab out here. There ain’t nothing.”

Task force commander Lt. Greg Yeager said investigators got a search warrant for the property following a long-term investigation. He said investigators found suspected meth, drug paraphernalia and controlled medications during the sweep.

“The initial information was there was at least meth dealing at this location,” Yeager said.

Due to concerns about chemical exposure from a possible meth lab, at least four investigators wearing full hazmat suits helped secure the property before detectives moved in for a closer look. Yeager said investigators briefly questioned each person found on the property before releasing them; he said detectives are confident they can find those people again if charges are brought.